Summertime Blues

The oversized Lobster peeked through the blinds. "Oh, pooh," he said. "It is raining once again! All this humidity is making Our shell curl."

"Cheer up, dude," chimed in Mort from the TV stand. At least you don't have to worry about your fire being put out, like I do. And I thought you liked water. Aren't you from the ocean or something?"

"Water is fine. We used to swim quite a lot in Our younger days. But humidity is quite another matter. It gets trapped under Our shell. If We aren't careful, Our claws will mold and our antenna may rot off! We had a cousin who didn't take care of her shell, and bad things happened...." Louis shuddered, shell clacking at the joints.

"All this rain is just like home for me," said Herb. "It rains pretty much every day there, and not just part of the year. It's warm all year, so every day is like this, almost!"

Mort grinned, and hopped from his basket. Good smells were coming from the kitchen, and he wanted to be there when whatever-it-was came out of the oven. "Come on, guys! I think our Cook is making a cake! Or something!"

In the kitchen, Scratch was studying the bunches of herbs she had hung up that morning. She smiled at the little green dragon, cautiously poking his snout around the doorframe. "Yes, you can come investigate. It isn't done yet though."

"When can We help you make cookies again?" asked Louis. "We miss helping you in the kitchen."

"We could probably do it next week," suggested Scratch. "Dent is off work and will be home all week, and we'll all need things to do to keep from driving each other crazy."

"Crazier than we do already?" grinned Herb.

"Absolutely!" said Scratch.

"We will be glad for things to do," said Louis. "We are running out of books to read!"